1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluoresceable composition in dosage unit form and to a method, for medical surgical or diagnostic purposes, particularly for determining fluid or blood flow of a subject as visualized by fluorescence in ultraviolet light.
2. Prior Art
The clinical use of fluorescein sodium under ultraviolet light as a fluorescent indicator of blood supply, vasculature and tissue viability is conventional in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery, and opthalmology. However, fluorescein sodium is not useful in heavily pigmented, non-Caucasion tissue, due to its limited fluorescence. Furthermore, fluorescein sodium may persist in tissue for days, thus limiting its usefulness as a fluorescing substance to a single intra-operative injection. Also, fluorescein sodium is a dye which temporarily can give the skin an unnatural color under normal light.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide improved means for determining fluid or blood flow in vivo, as visualized by fluorescence in ultraviolet light, particularly for medical, surgical or diagnostic operations or procedures.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such means which enables brighter fluorescence and better visualization.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such means which enables short term fluorescent visualization.
It is a still further object to provide means of visualization which is color-free for skin, clothing, etc., under natural light.
These and other objects, features and advantages will be seen from the following detailed description of the invention.